Turning 65

Age 65 is a milestone for OMERS retired members. For instance:

age 65 is a good time to think about medical insurance;
the amount of your OMERS pension changes; and
some important federal benefits become available to you.

Medical Insurance

Age 65 is often a turning point for medical benefits:

employer medical and dental coverage may end at 65;
Ontario residents become entitled to benefits under the Ontario Drug Benefit Program when they turn 65, but some products may not be covered, e.g., eyeglasses or prescription drugs bought outside Ontario; and
it may have been several years since you assessed your medical insurance needs.

While we cannot endorse or guarantee any of these products or services from the organizations below, we have agreed to pass along their information to help with insurance planning.

Be sure to identify yourself as an OMERS member if you enquire about coverage for any of these special offers.

Organization	Contact information
Mitchell & Abbott Group Insurance Brokers Property and automobile insurance	P.O. Box 6040, Station ‘D' Hamilton, ON L8V 5C4 Phone: 1-800-463-5208 tgraves@mitchellabbottgrp.com
Encon Health insurance, guaranteed acceptance life insurance and convalescent care to retirees	ENCON Group Inc. 11 King Street West, Suite 1900 Toronto, ON M5H 4C7 Phone: 1-800-363-7861 mroo@encon.ca
Municipal Retirees Organization of Ontario (MROO)	4094 Tomken Road Mississauga, ONL4W 1J5 Phone: 1-800-595-4497 or 905-602-6682 mroo@istar.ca
PLANDirect Insurance Health, dental, travel, home, and life insurance	211 Consumers Road Suite 210 Toronto, ON M2J 4G8 Phone: 1-800-565-4066 or 416-490-0072 plandirect@pdadmin.com
OTIP Health, dental, travel, home, auto and life insurance for retired education employees.	125 Northfield Drive West P.O. Box 218 Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z9 Phone: 1-800-267-6847 or 519-888-9683
Police Pensioners Association of Ontario (PPAO) Sun Life Benefit Plan Health, dental and travel insurance for police retirees and family members AVIVA D.A. Kurt Insurance Brokers LTD Financial services and home and auto insurance for police retirees only	Sun Life Benefit Plan Greg Galipeau HBA CLU 1202 Lambton Mall Rd Sarnia, ON N7S 5R6 Phone: 519-542-7779 ext. 2213 or 1-866-282-3924 ext. 2213 Fax: 519-542-2560 greg.galipeau@sunlife.com AVIVA D.A. Kurt Insurance Brokers LTD David Kurt 604 Belwood Ave W. Kitchener, ON N2M 1N5 Phone: 519-579-5440 or 1-800-339-9935 Phone (24-hour):1-877-314-7687 Fax: 519-579-0193 david@kurt-ins.com

OMERS Bridge Benefit

While your lifetime pension is paid for life, the month after you turn 65 OMERS bridge benefit ends and will be taken off your pension payment. Just before you turn 65, you will receive a notice from OMERS detailing the change to your pension.

Background

Your OMERS pension is designed to work with the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to help provide a reasonable, total retirement income. Here's how:

While you work, you pay a lower OMERS contribution rate on the portion of your earnings for which you also contribute to CPP (up to $50,100 in 2012).
When you retire, your OMERS and CPP pensions work together to provide you with retirement income.

How We Calculate Your Bridge Benefit

0.675% x credited service (years) x lesser of "best five" earnings or $47,360

Terms and Figures

“Best five earnings” is the annual average of your highest 60 consecutive months of contributory earnings.
$47,360 is the current five-year average (2008-2012) of CPP earnings limit.
$50,100 is CPP's annual earnings limit for 2012.

No link between CPP pension and OMERS bridge benefit
Your CPP pension is based on how long you have worked and contributed to CPP. The OMERS bridge benefit is based on your credited service in OMERS. The two amounts are not linked and may be quite different.

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and other government benefits

If you haven't already started to receive your CPP pension, be sure take the steps necessary to ensure you receive the benefit you've earned. Your CPP benefit is not sent automatically; you must apply for it.

Application kits are available from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada either online or from the local office in your area.

Other Government benefits include the Old Age Security (OAS) program, which is supplemented by the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Allowance for low-income seniors. When you turn 65, you may be entitled to these benefits. Like CPP, you must apply for them.

Members